The migrant worker shift

Some sections of the UK population take great delight in criticising the government for being overly accommodating to those looking for work in the UK from overseas.

You know the sort of thing: "Bloody foreigners, coming over here, stealing our jobs." Well now the full irony of that statement is beginning to hit home.

For years now, there has been a drought of indigenous talent in the food and drink industry as UK residents have been unwilling or unable to plug increasing numbers of vacancies. The truth is that manufacturers would have been hamstrung without the ability to recruit migrant workers to fill these roles.

Now food and drink processors face a fresh labour crisis as sector skills council Improve unveils research that indicates plummeting numbers of migrant workers. The data discloses a major threat to the industry, and to the UK economy as a whole, since food and drink is the UK's largest manufacturing sector.

According to the latest figures, firms in the market currently employ 72,000 foreign workers, representing one in 10 of their staff members. After the flurry of eastern European countries admitted to the EU in 2004, a sea of people from these regions flooded into the UK seeking jobs. But now that flood is abating. Worse still, the tide appears to have turned and the signs are that many of these visitors are either returning to their home turf or moving on to emerging economies elsewhere.

Direct feedback from companies suggests that this is particularly the case with Polish workers, who make up more than half of all foreign staff in the industry.

Out of a total of 600 businesses surveyed by Improve across the UK, a third say they employ migrant workers, down from almost half of respondents to a similar 2005 study. This decline tallies with government figures showing a four per cent fall in applications from eastern European EU member states to work for food and drink manufacturers between 2006 and 2007.

Almost half of respondents to the latest survey say that this reversal of previous trends would leave them with vacancies and more than a quarter say that it would hamper productivity. A total of 29% report that it would lead to skills shortages, with just 21.9% saying that it would have no particular impact.

"These findings are a cause of concern for the industry," says Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve. "[Trade body] The Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association, for example, has been quite frank in its claim that, without migrant labour Northern Ireland's meat industry would collapse, taking 20% of UK's red meat supply with it."

The fall in numbers compounds the already recognised problem of recruiting indigenous UK workers, with the lamentable lack of willing volunteers of a suitable skill level. The dilemma is: with the pool of UK nationals being so poor, how is the shortfall going to be made up?

"Food and drink companies turn to migrant workers because they cannot find staff in the numbers they need at home," says Matthews. "It is nothing to do with lower wages - only two per cent of employers say they take on foreign workers to save money, whereas 26% cite shortages in their local labour market."

In addition, 12% claim they recruit migrant workers because of unwillingness among the local workforce to fill elementary roles.

"There is also no suggestion that foreign workers are being used because they are better skilled," says Matthews. "If anything, there is evidence that migrant labour is not being used to its full potential, with two-thirds being employed in elementary roles despite being very well qualified.

"Companies use migrant labour out of necessity and the industry will have to look seriously at how it can protect its interests if numbers fall significantly."

One tactic that processors are using to try to hold on to migrant workers is to switch from short- to long-term contracts for them. A total of 85.1% of those responding to Improve's survey say that they are taking this tack.

In addition, Matthews says that lobbying government to remove restrictions on some people groups would also help. "We're not simply going to have a big influx of migrant workers from Bulgaria and Romania, certainly not at the same rate as we have had with Polish workers, because they will not be allowed in.

"We need an open and fair labour market and it is important the government listens to food and drink employers."

Processors could also do more by making English lessons more accessible, according to Improve. A total of 35.2% of respondents to its research admit that the language barrier makes employing migrants difficult. However, only 17.6% offer access to English for Speakers of Other Languages courses. And although 60.2% of employers provide migrant workers on their staff with training, that still means that almost 40% do not, for whatever reason. That does not compare favourably to the overall commercial average of one third of employers not training any of their staff members, according to government statistics. "Companies that have invested in migrant workers have got a return from them," says Matthews.

But try as it might to keep overseas talent, he claims an over-reliance on migrant labour will not help. "Perhaps this is the time to consider what we can do to boost the domestic labour pool and the skills of our existing workforce to counter the decline in migrant labour and increase the sector's productivity.

"The influx of migrant workers was never going to solve the skills issue for the food and drink sector. Migrant workers are predominantly suited to semi-skilled or low-skilled tasks. We must also train indigenous workers to maintain and sustain businesses."

Dependence on overseas workers and failure to nurture home-grown talent has been unhealthy and we shall see how Improve intends to address this in the coming months. But the bitter pill for those who oppose the influx of migrants is that unless we make them more welcome, we may be brought to our knees by their swift exit. FM

Time's nearly up for time to train discussion

Jack Matthews, chief executive of sector skills council Improve, is calling for processors to take part in the Time to Train consultation on employee training launched by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).

The consultation closes on September 10 and the government expects Time to Train legislation to be implemented in 2010.

The DIUS proposes that employees, including volunteers, in England should have a legal right once every 12 months to request time away from mainstream duties for accredited or unaccredited training. Such training would have to help boost productivity and the effectiveness of staff, but the request could be for more than one type of training.

Bosses would also be required to fairly and seriously consider these requests, although they could still reject them. That said, workers would have the right to appeal against a decision. However, only employees who have worked for companies for 26 weeks or more would be entitled to Time to Train.

"I would urge employers to have their say in this consultation, to ensure that the final proposals respond to the needs of the food and drink manufacturing sector," Matthews told Food Manufacture. "This is an excellent opportunity to change the approach to training and open up access to skills development, but in order for the scheme to be effective, we have to ensure that it is workable."

The DIUS hopes up to 300,000 people will take up training annually through Time to Train. It suggests that the process for applying for time off for training would mirror the process for applying for flexible hours, making it easier for managers to implement the scheme.

Time to Train would complement the Train to Gain scheme, through which bosses can access government support to help them identify and address the skills needs of staff. Government subsidies of up to 100% exist for certain forms of training, with investment in the service expected to rise to £1bn by 2010-2011.